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Hello all, thought I would start a thread detailing my newest project. Progress will be slow, have 3 kids making sure i dont get too much time at the shop Anyways, this winter I sold my Harley-Davidson, went online and found listed a 1992 4.0 XJ Limited. Asking price was almost 4k€, but at the moment it was the only XJ i found that wasnt complete garbage to start with. Decided to call the seller, turns out the owner died last year, and his widow is selling the XJ. After talking a while i got the price down to 3k, went and had a look and brought it home for 2k€, which is a fair price around here. It was pretty much stock, the previous owner had put a 2-3" OME lift kit on it.
First order of business was to get a bit more lift and bigger tires. Decided to go with RC shackles rear and 1 3/4" spacers front, since the maximum legal lift is around 4".. And didn't want to swap out the OMEs.. Had some 31x10.5 Ziarelli Maxis lying around from my previous build.
Then it was time to trim the fenders to make room for the 31's (Actually they measure 32"..)
Fenders cut. Haven't got pictures of the rear, but cut just enough to not go through the pinch welds.
Decided to use stock flares, just cut them a bit to fit better
Scored a Warn M8000 for 40€, seller said motor had burned, but turned out the only problem was the winch motor coupler had shattered and locked up the winch. Have new parts ordered, just waiting for them to arrive..
The radiator started leaking, the originial only lasted 27 years (weird huh).. Ordered a new one along with new hoses and power steering lines. Since I can't drive the Jeep atm I started building a bumper for the winch, it turned out O.K.
It ties to the unibody and will also be welded in place. Still some minor stuff to do.
Bigger oil cooler, from a Mercedes, just to be sure (AW4)..
That's pretty much it for now. Spring has finally arrived here in Finland, so progress with this project might pick up the pace. It really isn't fun building and welding in the snow at -15c..
Also built skidplates for the trans oil pan etc, have to take pictures of those. Next i will redo the wiring from battery to alternator etc. with upgraded wire thickness, finish the bumper, build a rear bumper, make new bumpstops, rebuild the winch and get it mounted, build rock sliders etc etc etc..
Please feel free to leave a comment. Will keep updating the thread when i get more stuff done!
Got a few parts today, still waiting for my new radiator. Hope it will be delivered by tomorrow, before the easter holidays..
Heres the before picture, kinda hard to see but its been leaking steering fluid for a while, every things covered in oil
Just to make sure things wouldnt be too easy, i just had to break the hose connector on the reservoir.. Didn't feel like half-assing it and luckily i have a parts jeep so took a new reservoir from it.
Everything back together and washed. Now just have to wait for my radiator to be delivered, i really want to hit the trails on the weekend!
BONUS: thought i'd share my first offroader, sold it a few years back. Depending on where you're from it's either an Vauxhall, Opel or whatever Engine is a 2.4L Vauxhall/Opel, everything else is made by Isuzu. Had alot of fun with this rig, and learned alot about building a car for trails. The only reason i sold it was that for some reason i allways wanted an XJ. This rig could take some serious beating, never let me down. Sadly i have very little pictures from all the stuff i built.
Came to the shop early to change oils and finish up all loose ends before my radiator is delivered later today. Couldn't find a Mopar oil filter anywhere so Fram will have to do, and decided to go with 5w-40
Winch bumper is almost done, got everything to fit nicely and winch is all wired up. Still waiting on my new winch solenoid and coupler, looks like they wont be delivered before easter. Going to hit the trails tomorrow or Saturday, luckily my old man is coming along with his Wrangler, which does have a working winch
Edit: i did get the radiator today, will post pictures from the trails on Saturday or Sunday
Yeah it was well maintained by the previous owner, and now that i fixed all leaks and stuff i hope i can focus on actually making it more capable offroad
We have a couple shops that have Jeep parts, but for example when my radiator broke it was cheaper to order a new one from the us and having it shipped here than buying one from Finland. Junkyards hold ridiculous prices for used axels etc, thats if you're lucky enough to find a Jeep being parted out. Luckily i have one parts XJ that im going to pull everything i might need in the future from.
Progress has been slow, as advertised
Did not get to hit the trails during the weekend, my old mans Wrangler decided to break down right before going trailing Instead got the winch wired, and the solenoid.
And finally got all the parts for the winch today, and picked up a 8mm/15m Tyrex rope. Still need to pick up a switch to control the winch, since the ones i ordered are taking forever to deliver. Finally getting the winch done really got me stoked on this build. more to follow!
After wiring the solenoid and buttons could not get the winch to work. Double and triple checked every thing, could not figure out the problem. So decided to pull the winch and disassemble it, found out the PO really had no clue what he was doing
Much better. Put every thing back together and everything works like a charm. Time to go trailing and get stuck so i can properly test the winch!
Had a blast. Winch worked great, everything worked great. Need to dial in my bump stops tho, tires catch on the inner fender.
When your kids want to go offroading you just can't say no 😁
Broke a axle joint, i knew it had play in it so it was just a matter of time. Forgot to take pictures, but anyways
Could have gotten Splicer joints for a lot less, but theres a small parts store near me that has one guy working there who drives chevys etc and keeps american car parts in stock.
Bearing was shot too, luckily had one hub laying around. Changed two wheel studs while i was there.
Out for a test drive, grampa tagged along in his ZJ
04-15-2019, 01:20 PM
'92 XJ from Finland
Anyways, this winter I sold my Harley-Davidson, went online and found listed a 1992 4.0 XJ Limited. Asking price was almost 4k€, but at the moment it was the only XJ i found that wasnt complete garbage to start with. Decided to call the seller, turns out the owner died last year, and his widow is selling the XJ. After talking a while i got the price down to 3k, went and had a look and brought it home for 2k€, which is a fair price around here. It was pretty much stock, the previous owner had put a 2-3" OME lift kit on it.
Engine is a 2.4L Vauxhall/Opel, everything else is made by Isuzu. Had alot of fun with this rig, and learned alot about building a car for trails. The only reason i sold it was that for some reason i allways wanted an XJ. This rig could take some serious beating, never let me down. Sadly i have very little pictures from all the stuff i built. 
Instead got the winch wired, and the solenoid. 
more to follow! 
